The UK government likely overestimated the number of people who identify as transgender in the country due to immigrant groups’ lack of understanding of English.
In the most recent census, carried out in 2021, around 262,000 people in England and Wales – roughly 0.5% of the population – answered “no” to the question of whether they identify as a gender different to the one they were born with.
But this week Mary Gregory, deputy director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said there was “potential bias” in the way the question was asked which could have led to an overestimate of the number of people who identify as transgender, the BBC reported. Reports.
Gregory said some people who identified as transgender on the census questionnaire “may have limited English proficiency, and some may have given responses that erroneously suggest they are transgender.”
She argued that while the number of cases is “relatively low,” it's still enough to skew the results in areas with “a higher proportion of non-English speakers.”
The accuracy of the figures is important because they may be used by the government to decide how to allocate treasury funds.
The 2021 census was the first in the country's history to ask citizens if they identify as a gender different from the one they were born with.
Research and analysis from Oxford University found that people with poor English skills are 10 times more likely to be classified as “gender unknown” than native speakers.
While only 10% of all adults speak English as their primary language, they make up 29% of all registered transgender adults.
Dr Michael Biggs, Professor of Sociology at the University of Oxford, said: said “The only possible explanation is that many immigrants with limited English proficiency were understandably confused by the gender question and mistakenly answered in the negative,” it said in April.
“Most of them did not state their identity and were classified as gender unknown. Some did state their gender and were classified as trans male or trans female.”
